USA > Illinois > Stephenson County > History of Stephenson County, Illinois : a record of its settlement, organization, and three-quarters of a century of progress > Part 5
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HISTORY OF STEPHENSON COUNTY
sympathy of Americans who laud him and flaunt his memory before us by erect- ing his statue in public places. It was this Black Hawk who brought about this final inevitable conflict in 1832 and struck terror to the hearts of the families of the pioneers of Northwestern Illinois.
FRONTIER LIFE IN 1832.
A few illustrations will give a clear portrayal of the frontier life about the borders of Stephenson County at the opening of Black Hawk's War. The set- tlers who had built their homes in Southern Wisconsin, in Jo Daviess County and along the Rock River, thus bringing civilization to our doors, were not strangers to the penalty of frontier life and the havoc of Indian warfare. The family history of most of those men and women contained many a sad chapter that told of murder of loved ones by marauding bands of stealthy red men. Life was a stern reality to these people who lived, for the most part, in close proximity to forts to which they frequently fled to escape the hatchet and the scalping knife. in the light of the history of those days, the attitude of the men of that day towards the Indians is not difficult to understand. General A. C. Dodge gives a good illustration. In a public address he said: "In the settlement of Kentucky, five of my father's brothers fell under the Indian hatchet. I saw one of my uncles bear to the fort on horseback, the dead and bleeding body of his brother. My own brother, Henry LaFayette Dodge, was burned to death at the stake." In those days in Northwestern Illinois every home was a fort and the farmers plowed the field "with a rifle lashed to the beam." In describing the life of the pioneers in his "Sketches of the West," James Hall says: "They left behind them all the comforts of life. They brought but little furniture, but few farm- ing implements and no store of provisions. At first they depended for subsist- ence on the game of the forest. They ate fresh meat without salt, without vege- tables and often without bread; and they slept in cabins hastily erected, of green logs, exposed to much of the inclemency of the weather. They found them- selves assailed, in situations where medical assistance could not be procured, by diseases of sudden development and fatal in character. The savage was watch- ing, with malignant vigilance, to grasp every opportunity to harass the intruder into the hunting grounds of his fathers. Sometimes he contented himself by seiz- ing the horses or driving away the cattle, depriving the wretched family of the means of support, reserving the consumation of his vengeance to a future oc- casion ; sometimes with a subtle refinement of cruelty, the Indian warrior crept into the settlement by stealth, and created universal dismay by stealing away a child, or robbing the family of the wife and mother ; sometimes the father was the victim and the widow and the orphans were thrown on the protection of friends who were never deaf to the claims of the unfortunate, while as often the yelling band surrounded the peaceful cabin at the midnight hour, applied the fire brand to the slight fabrics and murdered the whole of its defenseless inmates."
Not far from Ottawa occurred the "Big Indian Creek Massacre," by three of Black Hawk's braves and seventy Pottawattamies and Winnebagoes. In 1830, William Davis had built a cabin and set up a blacksmith shop on the creek.
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Among the settlers who came later with their families, were John and J. H. Henderson, Allen Howard, William Pettigrew and William Hall. Shabona, a chief of the Winnebagoes, observed the plot of the Indians and on a perilous ride, warned every settler and hastened to the fort at Ottawa. But the warning was not heeded. At four o'clock, May 20, 1832, the savages burst into the door yards of the settlements. Pettigrew, Hall and Norris were soon killed, ยท Davis fought to the end, but fell at last in a determined hand to hand struggle. The women were slaughtered with spears and knives and tomahawks, the Indians laughing with fiendish glee, as they afterwards said, because the women squawked like ducks when run through with a spear or stabbed with a knife. One Indian seized a four year old child by the feet and dashed its brains out on a stump. Two savages held the hands of the little Davis boy while another Indian shot him. Two boys escaped and two girls, Rachel and Sylvia Hall, aged seventeen and fifteen respectively, were carried away by the red men. Settlers at Ottawa returned with the boys the next day. They found some with their hearts cut out and others mutilated beyond description. All were buried in one grave, without coffin or box. Young' Hall enlisted in a company and marched through Stephenson County in search of his sisters, camping at Kellog's Grove. After a terrible experience of eleven days, the girls were rescued on June Ist.
When Black Hawk returned in 1832, Rev. James Sample and his wife fled over the old Sauk Trail, but were overtaken by the Indians. The preacher plead in vain for them to spare his wife. Both were tied to trees, fagots were piled about them, fire was kindled and as the victims struggled in the flames, the red men danced with joy.
Near Gratiot's Grove, William Aubrey was shot from ambush by a party of Sacs. He was returning from a spring with a pail of water. On June 14th, five men-Spafford, Searles, Spencer, McIlwaine, and an Englishman-were murdered and their bodies mutilated by Indians, six miles southeast of Fort Hamilton, near the border of Stephenson County, on Spafford's farm.
Mr. Franklin Reed of' Pontiac wrote in 1877 about the fear of Indian dep- redations. His father moved to Buffalo Grove, now Polo, Ill., in 1831, built a cabin in four days, put out a garden and broke the prairie for crops. Once in 1831, the family fled to Apple River Fort in Jo Daviess County. In the spring of 1832, Black Hawk's warriors were again prowling around, more surly than usual and the family fled to Dixon.
Such was pioneer life in Northwestern Illinois, when Black Hawk's band in small parties carried pillage and murder to the scattered settlements. Their depredations extended from Rock Island to Rockford and from Ottawa to Galena and to Mineral Point, Wisconsin. The issue was sharply drawn. The United States and the government of Illinois must drive Black Hawk beyond the Mississippi or the settlers must continue to be harassed and murdered by the Indians.
When the old Indian crossed into Illinois in 1832, he sent word to General Atkinson that his heart was bad and he would not turn back. Gov. Reynolds again called for volunteers. Throughout Central Illinois, the men were aroused. Companies were speedily organized and marched to Beardstown. Some were ex-
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HISTORY OF STEPHENSON COUNTY
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perienced Indian fighters, but many were young men anxious as they said to kill "Injins." Many of the volunteers furnished their own horses, guns and am- munition. The companies elected their officers and marched to Dixon. They were the most independent men on earth but wholly lacking in discipline. Im- petuous and headstrong, it was impossible for the Governor and the officers to organize them into an efficient fighting force, or to restrain them from a rash advance into the enemy's country. They fought their "Bull Run" and learned an expensive lesson in Stillman's Defeat at Old Man's Creek in LaSalle County, the night of the 14th of May, 1832.
Unable to hold the volunteers in check, Gov. Reynolds and Gen. White- side gave orders for an advance up the Rock River by a detachment under Majors Stillman and Bailey, May 12, 1832. While at supper on the 14th a few Indians appeared, and without waiting for orders, or rather in defiance of orders, - the soldiers in twos and threes gave chase as fast as they could mount. The camp was soon in general disorder, the officers having lost control and the.men were straggling out over two or three miles after the red skins, each volunteer. anxious to shoot an "Injin." It was the same old story of Indian strategy-the decoys, the ambush, and the defeat. Suddenly Black Hawk's warriors burst upon the disorganized volunteers in force and terrifying war whoops drove the stragglers pell mell back through the camp and stampeded the main body of volunteers. The detachment beat a hasty and disorderly retreat to Dixon, leav- ing eleven dead upon the field of battle. The Indians scalped the dead and cut off some of their heads.
From this time on, it was not a question of going on a lark to kill "Injins." After Stillman's defeat, Black Hawk's war became serious business. Gov. Rey- nolds called for two thousand volunteers, and General Atkinson of the United States Army took command. Three Southerners, destined to become dis- tinguished men, entered the service and reported to Gen. Atkinson, Major Zachary Taylor, Albert Sidney Johnston and Jefferson Davis. Lieutenant Jef- ferson Davis marched through Stephenson County, camping at Kellog's Grove (Timm's Grove) with a detachment to aid Colonel Strode at Galena. Major Taylor and Albert Sidney Johnston served throughout the war and more than once passed through Stephenson County, camping at Kellog's Grove.
May 19, 1832, Colonel Strode started a small detachment under command of Sergeant Fred Stahl, from Galena with dispatches to General Atkinson at Dixon. They followed Kellog's Trail through this county. At Buffalo Grove, near Polo, they were attacked by Indians. The Indians were repulsed, but William Durley was left dead on the field.
On May 23d, General Atkinson sent Felix St. Vrain, the Indian agent, with despatches to Fort Armstrong, at Rock Island. St. Vrain and his party, con- sisting of Aaron Hawley, Aquilla Floyd, William Hale, Thomas Kenney, John Fowler and Alexander Higginbotham, were to go via Kellog's Grove to Galena and thence down the Mississippi to Fort Armstrong. About fourteen miles from Buffalo Grove, not far from Kellog's Grove, they met a party of Sac In- dians under command of "Little Bear" who had been an intimate friend of St. Vrain. Because of this friendship, the party felt they had little to fear, but to the surprise of all the "Little Bear" and his warriors showed signs of hostility
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HISTORY OF STEPHENSON COUNTY
and were evidently preparing to murder the entire party. The only chance of the seven men against thirty braves lay in flight, and each white man put his spurs to his horse and made an independent daring dash for life. Fowler, Hale, Hawley and St. Vrain were killed. Floyd, Kenney and Higginbotham escaped only to meet another band of Indians soon after. From this band they also escaped, after an exciting chase for several miles. At Brush Creek, they were attacked again, but hiding by day and moving by night, they made their way finally to Galena. Felix St. Vrain was a Frenchman, whose grandfather left France for Louisiana during the reign of terror. His father was an officer in the French navy and his brother was one time governor of Upper Louisiana. After the Louisiana purchase in 1803, Felix St. Vrain cast his lot with the United States, and was a brave, tactful and trusted Indian agent for the Sacs and Foxes at Fort Armstrong. The sullen Black Hawk had put the death mark upon him and "Little Bear" and his party had carried it into execution.
After killing the three men, the savages cut off the head, arms and feet of St. Vrain. They cut out his heart and passed it around in pieces to be eaten by the Indians who were intoxicated with joy because they had eaten the heart of one of the bravest of Americans.
General Atkinson sent out Captain Iles company July 8th to keep the way clear from Dixon to Galena along Kellog's Trail. This company buried St. Vrain, Fowler, Hale and Hall near the present site of the Black Hawk monu- ment at Timm's Grove. The company reached Galena July roth. In this com- pany, on this march through Stephenson County, was Abraham Lincoln, a pri- vate from Old Salem, now Petersburg, Ill. The mustering officer who mus- tered the company in and out of the service was Robert Anderson, who was later compelled to surrender Fort Sumter.
Kellog's Grove, or Timm's Grove in Stephenson County, was the central strategic point in this war. Located on Kellog's Trail, thirty-five miles from Galena and thirty-seven miles from Dixon, its possession meant the right of way between the leading mine settlements about Galena and Fort Hamilton, and the settlement about Dixon. It was a midway point between Fort Winnebago and Fort Armstrong. If Black Hawk could hold the cabins at Kellog's Grove, he could send out his bands on any radius, striking terror and murder into the white settlements and getting away before the United States troops could concentrate for attack. It was a vital part of the plans of General Atkinson to hold Kellog's Grove and keep the trail open. The trail had been blazed by O. W. Kellog in 1827. He built the cabins at Kellog's Grove, the first buildings erected in Stephenson County and lived there till 1831. The cabins were built end to end, about seven feet high and covered with basswood bark.
General Atkinson decided to make Kellog's cabins a base of operations be- tween Galena and Dixon. For this purpose, he sent out Captain Adam Snyder's company and two companies of regulars. They reached Kellog's Grove June 12th. Captain Snyder pushed on to Galena on the 13th and returned to the grove the next day. Sentinels were posted about the cabins. On the night of the 15th, during a storm, Indians approached. The night was dark and an Indian had crawled to within a few feet of a sentinel who saw the red skin
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HISTORY OF STEPHENSON COUNTY
by the light of a flash of lightning. The Sentinel and the Indian clinched in a hand to hand conflict. The white man was strong and was overcoming the Indian. Another flash of lightning saved the brave picket, for nearby he saw three other Indians approaching. Throwing his combatant to the ground, he ran to the cabin and shouted the alarm. All through the night, the Indians prowled around the cabins and all night long the men within were held in readi- ness to ward off the attack.
The next morning, the 16th of June, the Indians had withdrawn and Captain Snyder followed their trail in pursuit. After pursuing the Indians' trail several miles, Captain Snyder came upon four of them in a deep ravine about three miles from Kellog's cabins. He charged the red men, killing all four, losing one man mortally wounded, William B. Meconson, who was shot twice in this fierce hand to hand encounter. Captain Snyder's men now started for the camp, carrying Meconson on a litter. The dying man begged for water and two de- tachments were sent out to search for it. One squad, composed of Dr. Richard Roman, Benjamin Scott, the drummer boy, Corporal Benjamin McDaniels, Dr. Francis Jarritt and Dr. McTy Cornelius, was attacked by a large party of In- dians concealed in bushes in a ravine at the end of a ridge which the men were descending. Benjamin Scott and Benjamin McDaniels were instantly killed and Dr. Cornelius was slightly wounded. Roman, Jarritt, and Cornelius beat a hasty retreat with over fifty savages in mad pursuit. With murderous yells, they came upon the dying Meconson and cut off his head. Snyder's men were scattered and fought at a great disadvantage. They soon closed up and engaged the Indians in a pitched battle, checking their pursuit. In this battle, the leader of the Indians mounted on a white horse exhibited great skill and courage riding to and fro among his men, directing the conflict. The aim of the pioneer soldiers was good and the red men were repulsed. A riderless white horse, wander- ing about the battlefield, plainly showed that the Indian leader had been killed. Without a leader, the red men retreated and Captain Snyder held his ground.
Early in this fray, Major Thomas had volunteered to ride alone to Kellog's Grove for reinforcements, an errand full of danger, one of many evidences of heroism in this campaign. Just as the battle was over, he returned with rein- forcements. Night was approaching and reluctantly Captain Snyder aban- doned the pursuit and returned to camp at Kellog's cabins.
The next day, the 16th, Captain Snyder made a vain attempt to find the In- dians and to continue the fight. He buried the dead, and in a few days returned to Dixon where his company was mustered out. New levies had arrived to take the places of the men and keep up the war.
Captain Adam Snyder was a native of Pennsylvania. He had walked to Illinois in 1817. He was elected to congress in 1836, was presidential elector in 1840, and was nominated for governor in 1841, and would have been elected had he not died during the campaign. Governor Ford who took his place was elected.
At this stage of the war, the most effective service was rendered by small companies of "rangers," the rough riders of that day. The most distinguished of these leaders were Colonel Henry Gratiot, Colonel Dodge, Captain J. W. Stephenson, and Colonel Hamilton, son of the great Alexander Hamilton, first
Cedarville Bridge
Falls Above the Dam. Cedarville
Cedarville View
Near Old Settlers Grounds, Cedarville
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LILAHARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
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HISTORY OF STEPHENSON COUNTY
Secretary of the Treasury of the United States. Owing to the slow movements of the regular army and the short enlistments of the volunteers, these "rangers" alone stood between the settlements and the murderous bands sent out by Black Hawk. Located not far from Kellog's Grove, the crafty old Indian was strik- ing in all directions at the settlements between the Rock River and the Wisconsin. Simultaneous attacks in distant parts of the war zone made effective work by a large force impossible. The marauding Indians kept the settlers well within the forts, stole their horses, burned their cabins and waiting in ambush, shot and scalped defenseless men.
The Winnebagoes too were restless. Black Hawk used threats and diplomacy to drive these more peaceable Indians into the conflict on his side. In protecting the stockade forts and the property and lives of the scattered settlements, the fearless rangers of Dodge, Hamilton, Gratiot and Stephenson were noted for the swiftness of forced marches and for prowess in Indian warfare. Combining di- plomacy and daring, these men kept the Winnebagoes neutral. On one occasion when the Winnebagoes manifested signs of flight, Colonel Dodge and Captain J. B. Gratiot walked alone into the Indian camp and took away with them the chief "White Crow" and five others as hostages. An illustration will show the rapid movement of these rough riders. On the 8th of June, Colonel Dodge left Gratiot's Grove, Wisconsin; the 9th, he was at Kellog's Grove, Stephenson County, Illinois ; the 10th, he was at Dixon; the IIth, he was at Ottawa confer- ring with General Atkinson and General Brady; at midnight, he was in Dixon again; the 12th, he camped at Kellog's Grove and the 13th, he returned to Gratiot's Grove.
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BATTLE OF THE PECATONICA.
On the 16th of June, Henry Appel was waylaid and shot by a band of In- dians near his cabin not far from Fort Hamilton. Colonel Dodge was soon in hot pursuit. The Indians crossed the Pecatonica, not far from the Stephen- son County line, about thirty minutes ahead of Dodge and his detachment of twenty-nine men. Colonel Dodge's own account of this battle is as fol- lows: "After crossing the Pecatonica in the open ground, I dismounted my men, linked my horses, left four men in charge of them and sent four men in different directions to watch for the movement of the Indians, if they should atempt to swim the Pecatonica; the men were placed on high points that would give a good view of the enemy, should they attempt to retreat. I formed my men on foot at open order and at trailed arms, and we marched through the swamps to some timber and undergrowth, where I expected to find the enemy. When I found their trail, I knew they were close at hand. They had got close to the edge of a lake where the banks were about six feet high, which was a complete breastwork for them. They commenced the fire when three of my men fell, two dangerously wounded, one severely but not dangerously. I instantly ordered a charge on them by my eighteen men, which was promptly obeyed. The Indians being under the bank, our guns were brought to within ten or fifteen feet of them before we could fire upon them. Their party con- sisted of thirteen men. Eleven were killed on the spot and the remaining two
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HISTORY OF STEPHENSON COUNTY
were killed in crossing the lake, so they were left without one to carry the news to their friends." Bouchard says there were seventeen Indians, a French trap- per and Colonel Hamilton having found later the bodies of four other Indians in the swamp. This battle of the Pecatonica was a type of warfare waged by the rangers. The slow work of the muzzle loaders and the uncertainty of the flint- locks, caused many a battle to be decided by hand to hand encounters in which the determination of the white men more than matched the cunning of the Indian. If these rangers were heroic, their wives who remained in the stockades were no less so. Mrs. Dodge was urged to go to Galena for safety, but she replied : "My husband and sons are between me and the Indians. I am safe as long as they live."
Black Hawk's band made a specialty of stealing horses. If the owner pur- sued, he was ambushed, shot and scalped. On June 8th, the Indians got away with fourteen horses near the stockade at Apple River Fort, now Elizabeth, Illinois. A few days later, ten more were stolen. Captain J. W. Stephenson with twenty-one men went out to chastise the Indians and recover the stolen horses.
CAPTAIN STEPHENSON'S BATTLE.
Captain Stephenson struck the trail the morning of June 18th and overtook the Indians on Yellow Creek about twelve miles east of Kellog's Grove in Stephenson County. The Indians were driven in a mad chase for several miles and finally secreted themselves in a dense thicket, northeast of Waddams Grove. Stephenson's men fired into the thicket, but the crafty red skins refused to expose their location by returning the fire. Stephenson left a guard for his horses and charged with his men into the thicket, each side losing one man in the encoun- ter. Twice more Captain Stephenson charged the hidden foe, losing a man each time. After the first volley on the third assault, the whites and the Indians fought at close range. Captain Stephenson finally withdrew, so severely wounded that he could not continue in charge of his men. Stephen P. Howard, Charles Eames and Michael Lovell were killed. The Indians lost only the one man, and he was stabbed in the neck by Thomas Sublet. "This battle," says Governor Ford, "equaled anything in modern warfare in daring and desperate courage."
Colonel Strode marched with two companies to the scene of the battle and buried the dead June 20th. This notable struggle occurred between Waddams and McConnell. The country later was settled up and the graves were on the road side. The graves were opened, and the bones of the three heroes were removed to Kellog's Grove and buried at the foot of the monument to the heroes of the Black Hawk War. This recognition was due entirely to the zeal and pa- triotism of Mr. J. B. Timms, the present owner of Kellog's Grove.
Hamilton, Dodge, Gratiot and Stephenson fought with the courage and ef- fectiveness of Morgan, Wayne and Stark, and of Sumpter, Marion and Pickens of the Revolution. They were the minute men of their day. Stephenson County can well afford to erect in appropriate places statues in memory of the daring leaders of the "rangers" and to the sturdy riflemen who followed them with the old flintlock ; statues that will teach generation after generation of the heroic
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HISTORY OF STEPHENSON COUNTY
spirits who stood between the settlers and the firebrand and scalping knife of a relentless foe, and thus made possible the safe and quiet pursuits of civil life.
June 24, 1832, about two hundred Indians attacked Apple River Fort, now Elizabeth, just over in Jo Daviess County. All the settlers got within the fort except Frederick Dickson, who found the door barred just as he arrived. The savages were close upon him and he fled into the forest at once. He abandoned his horse into the darkness, dashed past the outposts of bloodthirsty Indians safely. The Indians were hungry and made a determined attack on the fort. Inside the fort, a brave frontier woman kept up the fighting spirit of the occu- pants by cheering on the men. She proved a woman's usefulness by having one squad of women mold bullets while another reloaded the rifles for the men. The Indians were repulsed with loss at every attack. But if aid did not appear from Galena, the fort must fall. Early that night, Kirkpatrick, a boy, determined to run the gauntlet and ride to Galena for aid, for he feared Dixon had been slain. The heavy gates swung out and all alone young Kirkpatrick plunged his horse into the darkness, dashed past the outposts of blood thirsty Indians and pushed his way through twelve miles of dark wilderness to Galena-a ride more daring far than that of a Paul Revere. As he arrived at Galena, he met Colonel Strode and Dixon on the march to the fort's relief. The Indians, know- ing that Strode and Stephenson would soon be upon them, beat a sullen retreat and next day attacked Colonel Dement at Kellog's Grove. Once more the stealth of Black Hawk's men with scalping knife and British rifles was more than matched by the front line of pioneers with a valor that reckoned life after duty.
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